


Animal-Assisted Therapy

by Lady_Truth



Category: THE iDOLM@STER, The Idol@ster: SideM
Genre: Fluff, Gift Fic, M/M, that's all its just bros being bros, yeah - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-28
Updated: 2020-08-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:02:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26161576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Truth/pseuds/Lady_Truth
Summary: Suzaku has no idea what the term 'allergies' mean. (Birthday gift fic)
Relationships: Akai Suzaku/Kurono Genbu
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	Animal-Assisted Therapy

**Author's Note:**

  * For [discworld](https://archiveofourown.org/users/discworld/gifts).



> This fic is dedicated to my good friend Gray (@genbukurono)'s birthday! I wanted to do something special to cheer them up after some rough days, and finally tried my hand in some good Gensu for a change!!
> 
> As I'm not fully versed in the unit, there may be a few mistakes here and there, i've been kinda out of loop with sidem these last few days sadly but i try ;;

It was inevitable when Genbu would be prompted with a simple question:

“Hey, what’s up with you and Nyakko, anyway?” Suzaku said, out of the blue.

It was an understandable reason; Nyakko had been a faithful companion, far longer than Genbu was (having only known him for nearly a year now), who stuck with Suzaku like glue. To see his best friend purposely distance himself from his life partner, whenever it drew near him, one would easily assume that Genbu was cold to all animals (like how most people tend to assume about him).

Of course, that was far from the case. Genbu had no particular vexations against the furball since day one. Though he wasn’t much of an animal person, it was hard to hold any sort of grudge against a harmless animal, incapable of understanding human speech. At best, Nyakko simply did as any cat would, by playing with his human companions—which, in terms of their delinquent lifestyle, meant to be a sign of trust.

It was more like he just physically _couldn’t_.

Genbu explained in simple terms, “I have an allergenic reaction with felines.”

“Allergies? Ain’t that what you get from the air? What does that got to do with Nyakko?”

_Oh, Suzaku._

Genbu adjusted his glasses, before delineating further, “To be more precise, I suffer from hay fever from the proteins found on a cat’s skin cells, triggered when dead flakes of skin left on any material, or flowing in the air.”

Suzaku looked at him as if he was speaking in a foreign language.

He wouldn’t have blamed him. It was only after Genbu spouted that whole diatribe of information that he should have probably kept it short and simple. Even if his companion was more brawn than brains sort of person, Genbu _did_ have a horrible habit of slipping in verbosity at any given moment, just to spout whatever he picked up from his long, long textbooks.

So, Genbu tried again, “I’m just not good with cats.”

It sounded more heartless than intended. He was about to correct himself, when he noticed Suzaku’s sudden expression.

Instead of being offended, for some strange reason, it empowered Suzaku enough to make him pump his fist excitedly. His eyes were bright and burning like an actual fire.

“Don’t give up, Gen!” Suzaku exclaimed. “You can’t let that fear beat ya! If something is in our way, we just gotta man it up!”

“Ah, you seek a challenge, I see.” Genbu smirked. “What do you have in mind then, partner?”

Suzaku took a moment to think it over (long and hard). Then, he slammed his fist into his palm, “We just gotta practice until you get more used to it! Like what we do at 315Pro!”

“Practice… as in how?”

“I’ll pretend to be a cat!”

Genbu blinked. “… What?”

“I said, ‘I’ll be a cat’!” Suzaku further added, with a beaming grin. “That way, you’d get more comfortable being around me!”

Genbu was nearly speechless.

Again, Suzaku was overly simplifying the whole situation. Somehow, in the midst of all his grandiose words, Suzaku seemed to have gotten an impression that allergies were just things you need to ‘man up’, to magically get better. Scientifically, that was not really possible.

Yet, he didn’t have the heart to admit it. Seeing the way Suzaku glowed, bustling with such an innocent, pure-hearted approach to help a friend, it was one of the reasons Genbu put so much faith in him, in the first place. It wouldn’t be Suzaku otherwise, after all.

So, he decided to play along. “Challenge accepted then,” Genbu finally said, smirking once more.

As soon as he heard his consent, Suzaku sprung straight into action. He got on all fours, kneeling on the ground. “All right, here we go!” he shouted, acting quite tough while being in such an embarrassing position.

Then, Suzaku just… crawled around Genbu’s long legs. At one point, he stopped himself, and let out a gruff growl. 

“… You sound more like a dog than a cat,” Genbu said.

“I’m being a _manly_ cat!” Suzaku corrected. “I’d be dishonoring Nyakko if I don’t put more power into it!”

Suzaku resumed the process. Every so often, he would look up, checking up on Genbu’s face, making sure that whatever he was doing was spurring some sort of positive reaction. When it looked to be in vain, he tried again, even pretending to lick his paws.

It was so desperate, it was almost cute.

Eventually, he gave up—at least, for that task. Rather than admit defeat, Suzaku simply tried a new tactic, with the same level of passion as before. “Take a seat, Gen!” he exclaimed eagerly.

“What for?”

“I’m gonna lay my head on your lap! That’s what cats do, right?”

He said all that without a hint of shame. No hesitation. No understanding how… those connotations would give off.

Despite feeling all that, Genbu didn’t want to turn tail either. Not after all the effort Suzaku was doing for him. It would go against their creed if he let such feelings deter him from following his dreams, yet again.

Genbu followed suit, and took a seat at the bench beside him. Suzaku joined him by his side, and laid his head on his lap, like a pillow. Even with his wild hair coming out on all ends, Genbu was still able to see Suzaku’s smiling, warm face from this angle, looking rather comfortable, to the point where Suzaku had to snuggle it a bit closer.

And, then, Genbu froze.

Something struck him at this core, clenching his chest so tightly—and he had no idea what it was, or why.

But, having Suzaku so close to him, feeling safe and happy, a face that Genbu treasured to see… he realized that it felt _nice_. Something like home, like family, like that sense of close connect he felt when he read stories to his fellow orphans. Something he yearned to feel for years.

He didn’t know what to do with it.

It wasn’t something a feeling that he was accustomed to having. It almost intimidated him, far more than any cat allergy. He just wasn’t ready yet to rationally access the situation.

Against his own desires, Genbu muttered, “Suzaku, I think that’s enough practice. Let’s just leave this for now, and get back to our work.”

No response.

“Suzaku?”

Still nothing.

Curiously, Genbu looked down. Suzaku was still in his lap, but looked far too inattentive, with his eyes shut. In fact, it almost looked like—

His suspicion was immediately confirmed with the sound of snoring.

_He fell asleep!_

Perhaps Suzaku was acting too much like a cat, and got too comfortable, eventually asleep like any cat would. By the time he woke up, he probably wouldn’t have even remembered what he was doing.

Genbu knew he should wake him up. He should stand, making a teasing joke, or flat out tell him that none of this was working.

But, he couldn’t.

He just let Suzaku sleep. If he could still see his expression, melting the coldness in Genbu’s heart like a fire… Then, it wasn’t so bad. It made Suzaku happy, it made _him_ happy, and why should he destroy it now?

Even if it were just for a moment, he wanted to savor every last second. Not even allergies would pull Genbu away from him.


End file.
